Insider
information in Washington suggests that the prospects of the U.S.
Supreme Court letting the Florida vote count proceed are even dimmer
than some commentators speculate.

One of the court's supposed
"swing vote," Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, is firmly on board
for George W. Bush's victory.

According to a knowledgeable
source, O'Connor was visibly upset - indeed furious - when the networks
called Florida for Vice President Al Gore on Election Night. "This
is terrible," she said, giving the impression that she desperately
wanted Bush to win.

Some have heard that one reason
why O'Connor was so upset was that the O'Connors want to retire home to
Arizona, but will not do so if Gore wins. In that case, O'Connor will
remain on the court to deny Gore the opportunity to replace her.

Other friends say that there is
a different reason - that if Bush wins, Chief Justice William Rehnquist
will retire, and then O'Connor will take his place as the first female
chief justice.The president appoints Supreme
Court justices and the chief justice.

For Gore to rely on the
bipartisanship of the other "swing vote" on the Supreme Court,
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, to save the day may also prove

to be resting on a weak reed.

Court watchers in Washington say
that it is doubtful that Kennedy would have signed the majority opinion
to stay the vote count on Saturday if he had any thought of changing his
mind after the hearing Monday.

For what it may be worth,
however, Kennedy has personal ties to Gore's

lawyer, Laurence Tribe, who argued the earlier Supreme Court case on the
Florida recount. But divining the thoughts of individual members of the
Supreme Court often comes down to reading tea leaves.

At holiday parties in
Washington, meanwhile, Democrats are in deep depression about the
Supreme Court's unprecedented move to shut down the counting of ballots
in Florida.

One former U.S. senator's wife
said, "I can't bear to even discuss it. It's so outrageous that it
makes me physically ill." Her husband admitted to the same
symptoms.

A former high Clinton appointee
to the Justice Department said, "The

Supreme Court's vote is a totally self-interested vote" by the
conservatives in the majority. "They are ensuring that they will
remain in the majority, even increase their majority."

The paternalism toward the
American people displayed in Justice

Antonin Scalia's opinion halting the vote count revealed a striking lack
of faith in the

people's sophistication and judgment.

Americans already know that
slightly different standards have been used to hand count Florida
"under votes." Broward County used freer standards than did
Palm Beach, but Broward's standards are legal and are incorporated in
the statutes of George W. Bush's Texas.

Most Americans who have followed
post-election events closely also know

that the Florida standard for hand counting is for county canvassing
boards to "ascertain the intent of the voter."

Even if the U.S. Supreme Court
lets the vote counting proceed, the stay has delayed matters so the
Republican-dominated Florida state legislature can

get into the act.

Another Bush back-stop - should
the people's votes go to Gore - would be

the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives and the evenly
divided U.S. Senate.

Ultimately, the final decision
about Florida's electoral votes could be made by the chief executive of
Florida, Gov. Jeb Bush, the candidate's brother.